Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical image processing apparatuses which accurately visualize an operating environment for a medical device, such as an endoscope, to be inserted to an object.
Description of the Related Art
It is difficult to insert a surgical tool, such as an endoscope and a catheter, having a complicated form to an intended region through an internal luminal structure such as blood vessel or a body cavity, for example.
Accordingly, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-177000 discloses creating a map of an internal luminal structure from an image of an internal luminal structure captured with an X-ray or by CT, MRI or the like before an operation and performing navigation for inserting a tip of a surgical tool into an internal desirable position.
For an intraoperative navigation, a position of a tip of a surgical tool may be detected with an X-ray. Alternatively, a transmitting unit may be attached to the tip of the surgical tool and a signal transmitted from the transmitting unit may be received by a receiving unit. The position of the transmitting means is acquired from the received signal in real time. The position may be displayed over the map.
According to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-177000, a two-dimensional map is used. Therefore, what kind of attitude a surgical tool has may not be known three-dimensionally.